driedhope's review against another edition
5.0
This book destroyed me for real, but it was worth it though. I love every second that I spend with this book and I’m ready to read the third book as I speak.
lindseymcc27's review against another edition
Too much world building that it slows down the plot, the plot being a depressing story of war that I do not wish to continue reading.
samuslovski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ropey's review against another edition
4.0
I really did try to come up with a coherent review for this because it deserves nothing less. Tried to pull up an entire google doc but I just ended up staring at a blinking cursor because of how much of a mess I was after reading this. If anyone asks me if it's any good, I would simply nod and say that I immediately decided to devour the next book after inhaling this one. I know that something tragic is going to happen, and I know I'm not the slightest bit prepared. The best thing about this series is that I'm aware of all of this and I just can't seem to stop reading.
Also: This is just Nezha and Rin pining for each other and taking it on the long game.
Also: This is just Nezha and Rin pining for each other and taking it on the long game.
elenadragon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
jbr471's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rhi4794's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Rape, and Self harm
jeremy_bearimy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
2.0
Talk about second book syndrome. And unfortunately, I'm a maaaajor black sheep here. Scrolling through Goodreads, it's a SEA of 4 and 5 star reviews. I found maybe two reviews under 4 stars. Yikes.
It was just SO. SLOW. It's a giant paperweight full of war and politics. I felt like I was just reading a history book. (I know that this is heavily based on the Chinese Civil War, and it felt like I was reading a recount of that instead of a historical-based FANTASY.) Yawn. I put this down for several weeks before I finally picked it back up, and it took me FOREVER to finally get back into it. And even then, it would go in spurts. I'd get super into it at certain points - namely, the action scenes - then it would get tedious and boring again. The paragraphs upon paragraphs of war strategy made me want to take a nap. I confess that I did a lot of skimming. I know many people LOVED this book, but that's just not my cuppa, sorry.
I also hated Rin in this book. She was SO awful!!! Like I don't know how so many people love her to pieces. She was apathetic, whiny, pathetic, and straight up rude for basically the entire book. She was flippant about people DYING and didn't seem to have much emotional reaction to anything that was happening. She did not give a shit about anyone but herself.
Spoiler
And maybe Kitay, once they were bound together -eye roll-In the last 1/4 or so of the book, lots of stuff starts happening (finally), but at that point I was so apathetic toward the story that I just didn't care.
Spoiler
Suni and Baji DIED for crying out loud and I didn't bat an eyelash. When Aratsha died, I didn't cry, but I actually felt sorry. Until Rin's thought of how he can't be useful anymore ruined it. She barely reacted to Suni and Baji, and like I said at that point I didn't really care anymore. I sure as shit didn't care when she lost use of her hand permanently. I feel like maybe I should have, oops.This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.